Daisy

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT DAISY - PAGE 2

It`ll be a while before Maggie Smith, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Anne Bancroft -- and all the other actresses who`ve been coveting the title role in the film version of Driving Miss Daisy -- learn who has landed the plum role. Richard Zanuck, who with partner David Brown will be producing a movie version of the off-Broadway play for MGM, reports that there`s still considerable work to be done on the Daisy script. That work, of course, will have to wait until the end of the Writers Guild strike, and, at this point, Zanuck says, "David and I aren`t even considering casting of the film."

British actor Daniel Day-Lewis pulled off the upset of the 62nd annual Academy Awards ceremony on Monday night, winning the Best Actor for My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown. Either Morgan Freeman for Driving Miss Daisy or Tom Cruise for Born on the Fourth of July was expected to win. But Day-Lewis` compelling performance of an Irishman, who didn`t let cerebral palsy get in the way of his artistic achievement, took top honors. "For everyone involved in the film, all our desire to make the film, all the strength that we needed, all the pleasure that we took in making the film came from Christy Brown," Day-Lewis said.

Daisy has a new beak, thanks to a veterinarian and a dentist who worked to give the injured Muscovy duck an acrylic replacement after its natural beak was mutilated. Veterinarian Sam Backos and dentist Albert Roy Gegerson, both of Deerfield Beach, combined avian medicine and oral surgery during a recent operation on Daisy, age 5. Daisy lost most of her lower beak after an encounter last year with an unknown creature - possibly an alligator - near Lemon Lake in Margate. "The whole right side of her lower beak was missing and the left side was cracked," said Backos, owner of Backos Bird Clinic.

Daisy eagerly follows her master around and sits patiently when enticed with a treat. The 9-month-old doesn't shed, which makes her perfect for allergic owners, and wags her tail energetically when she hears her name. She has a special sleeping spot in the living room and is trained to go outside when nature calls. Daisy, a Vietnamese potbellied pig, would seem a perfect pet. Unfortunately, Jupiter codes say she isn't a pet, but a farm animal. "Daisy is my `dog,'" said Loretta Mayo, of Jupiter, who bought Daisy seven months ago, because Mayo and her son Jeffrey, 15, are allergic to dogs and cats.

The clock is ticking for Daisy the potbellied pig. If Daisy doesn't move from Loretta Mayo's home in Jupiter River Estates by Dec. 9, Jupiter officials say they will cite Mayo for violating the town's ordinance against keeping farm animals in the town limits. Once the citation is issued, Mayo will have 10 days to farm out Daisy to a new home or she'll face a hearing before the Code Enforcement Board on Jan. 27 and possible fines. "If the Code Enforcement Board finds that Ms. Mayo is in violation -- and it's pretty sure they will -- then the owner will have between five and 10 days to remove Daisy from her residence.

Daisy barely weighs three pounds, but she is causing a ton of trouble at the Pines of Delray West condominium. The pint-sized Yorkshire terrier has put her owners, Hy and Betty Colbert, in the dog house with the condo`s directors, who say Daisy is in direct violation of the community`s no-pets policy. The Colberts plead guilty as charged but would appreciate a little compassion and understanding -- something they say is in woefully short supply where they live. Daisy, they say, is more than just a pet. She is a sliver of joy for the couple`s adult daughter, Ronni, who is living with her parents as she tries to rebuild her life after a devastating divorce.

Miss Daisy Is Crazy! and Mr. Klutz is Nuts! Dan Gutman. HarperCollins Children's Books. Ages 8 and older. These two new books are the first in a series called "My Weird School." Author Dan Gutman also is known for a bunch of baseball books. In Miss Daisy is Crazy, second-grader A.J. hates school. Then he discovers that his teacher hates it, too. Not only does she hate school, she also is not very good at things a teacher should know. She can't add or subtract or even read and write.